A Titan’s Guide to the Crucible

I hope you hear this during every match that you play. Not just because it is extremely satisfying to hear Lord Shaxx belt it out in his sexy British accent, but because it means you are winning. I plan on writing a three part series focused on talent builds and armor that fit each class the best in the Crucible. We will have to look at guns another day. The ultimate goal of this guide is for you to win!! While the secondary goal remains for you to have a good time. In honor of the Iron Banner this weekend, this guide will teach you how to play the Titan class.

I like to think of myself as a casual Destiny player, but we all know that’s not true. Casual or not, the fact remains that I have a level 32 warlock, a level 32 titan, and a level 31 hunter. I have every exotic except Hardlight, Red Death, Vex Mythoclast, and Necrochasm. Along with many many of the exotic pieces of armor, I choose not to buy some because they are terrible. I’m looking at you Radiant Dance Machines. But enough about me, let’s win some games in the Crucible, with the help of the all mighty Titan and his smash (pew)!

Specifically we will look at the Striker Titan. I usually play the Defender Titan because I just love that bubble, but it seems to work much better in PvE spaces. In PvP the bubble is just used to postpone the inevitable. While it can be used as a quick orb generator, the Striker has more abilities that fit the quick playstyle of the Crucible. Below I will go through the available options in the subclass build and pick the ones that I think are best used in crucible.

Tier 1: Lightning Grenade

A grenade that sticks to any surface, periodically emitting bolts of lightning.

This option is mostly chosen because the other options aren’t that good. Any good player can easily overcome the slight disability of the flashbang grenade and the pulse grenade doesn’t last long enough or do enough damage to be viable. Therefore, we must go with the lightning grenade. And if you stick it on a surface just right, you can really stop an enemy team from entering a room, capturing a point, or even getting the heavy ammo.

Tier 2: Lift: Catapult

Jump and then press again while in the air to activate Lift

Upgrades Lift to provide a strong initial burst of momentum.

In my opinion Lift is the best of the Guardians jump options. Who wouldn’t want to be a Titan? But seriously in the Crucible, the strong initial burst of momentum can be the difference between getting away from an enemy and slowly drifting to your doom. Increased Height is really only useful for exploring patrols and Increased Control is really only useful for noobs.

Tier 3: Fist of Havoc: Shockwave

Smash the ground and dissolve nearby enemies in a maelstrom of Arc Light

Fist of Havoc unleashes a wave of devastating energy which travels along the ground.

This one was tricky. At first I really thought that Aftermath would be the standout winner here, but Guardians are rarely dumb enough to stand in the pulse left behind and I’ve never gotten more than one or two kills thanks to leaving this behind. Shockwave on the other hand has much more utility. Have you ever used the Fist of Havoc only to miss your enemy as he leaps out of the way at the last second? I have. But with the Shockwave he will most likely leap right into your devastating wave of energy and die.

Tier 4: Storm Fist: Overload

A punishing melee attack that deals bonus damage

Kills with Storm Fist significantly reduce the cooldown of Fist of Havoc.

I have not done enough research to figure out the exact percentage that Overload resets the cooldown but it’s enough to be useful. Here’s the cold hard truth, Storm Fists hits are not one hit kills; therefore, you are likely to hit someone with this increased melee only to reel back in horror as they survive. If they survive, you have a chance to hit them again with Overload. Such is the beauty of the Titan and his fist.

Tier 5: Titan Codex II

Training focused on speed and toughness.

As any good Titan knows, toughness is the key to survival. But what makes a tough Titan even better? A fast Titan! Numerous tests have shown that agility will allow you to run and jump higher than the average Guardian. Even if this advantage is slight, while you are running around the Crucible, you want to make sure that no one is faster than you are. Especially when you are using this next perk.

Tier 6: Transfusion

Now comes the fun tiers. Transfusion comes in handy on more times than I can count. While you are out exploring the dangerous world of the Crucible, punch everything you see. While you are punching you no longer have to worry about health regeneration and thus you no longer have to worry about battle recovery.

Tier 7: Titan Codex VI

Training focused on raw speed.

Finally, with this talent you will be the fastest Titan that ever walked and ran on the Earth. That’s all the explanation I have for this one, we are all about min/maxing folks.

Tier 8: Shoulder Charge

After sprinting for a short time, press to unleash a devastating melee attack.

For most of my life as a Titan of the last city, I have shied away from the shoulder charge. I just dislike the hazy border that surrounds my HUD when sprinting around the map. Alas, I have learned to embrace it. The shoulder charge really is the best option because it is a one hit kill. And paired with Transfusion, you never have to worry about health. Learn the timing on this one and unleash hell.

Exotic Options

There really isn’t one stand out Exotic Armor item for the Titan class, but there are a few that boost your ability to work effectively in the Crucible. Here are two options for the best piece of gear for the Titan. Since we are talking about the Iron Banner here, it is also best if you wear the Legendary armor from the Crota’s End raid to get the maximum armor.

An Insurmountable Skullfort

Replenishes health each time you pick up an Orb of Light.

Causing damage with your melee reduces your grenade cooldown.

Kills with Storm Fist immediately trigger health regeneration. You also respawn with full Melee energy.

We already have transfusion on our talent build, which also applies to Shoulder Charge. What I am really looking for here is respawning with full Melee energy. Lets be honest, you are going to die in the Crucible but the best part of dieing is coming back to life. And I want you to come back to life with melee energy! Since you will be using your melee more often you might as well you use your grenade a little bit more too. Also, this helmet is the best for Crota’s End Hard Mode.

MK. 44 Stand Asides

Increases the amount of Heavy Weapon ammunition you can carry.

Increases the duration Shoulder Charge remains active.

I’ll be honest with you, I do not like exotic boots. I think I made that pretty clear in my opening paragraph. In any case, I have noticed that when using Shoulder Charge in addition to wearing these boots, makes you pretty much unstoppable. As a downside, they do increase the amount of Heavy Weapon ammo you can carry, which is a problem during certain hard mode raids. But that’s no worry in the Crucible.

So there you have it! You are now the god of all Titans… or at least well on your way. This guide pretty much sums up the way I play the Titan and if you listen to our podcasts you know that the Spoon Deep family is pretty good in the Crucible. Check back soon for some Warlock and Hunter action.

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